To the honourable the President and the Senate assembled in Parliament:

The petition of certain citizens and residents of the Australia draws to the attention of the Senate our concerns about the Administrative Decisions (Effects of International Instruments) Bill 1999.

The bill seeks to extinguish our right to “Fair Go” appeal hearings when an Administrative decision is believed to be inconsistent with any International Treaty or Convention to which Australia has signed.

The joint statement “The Effect of Treaties in Administrative Decision Making”, 25 February 1997 (Clause 4) advise us not to expect inconsistency with Treaties and Conventions which have been signed by Australia but are not enshrined in Australian law - such as the Convention on Civil and Political Rights.

We are thus concerned that the bill may in future be extended to Treaties of domestic or external Territories of Australia, nature also.

We therefore request that the Senate reject the bill.